The Good Life
by KelsiLovesLucas
Summary: Third story after 'Perfect Life Gone Wrong' and 'Happy Ending? Not Happy Enough! More drama to this! COWRITE BY KELSILOVESLUCAS AND ILOVEHIMXO!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: First and foremost, this story was COAUTHORED by me ((KelsiLovesLucas)) and MissZacEfron. This is the sequel to' Happy Ending? Not Happy Enough' and the third after 'The Perfect Life Gone Wrong' . If you haven't read the first or second one, then we suggest that you go read that first. Okay, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: And guess what… we still own nothing.

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Chapter One

Vanessa rolled over in her bed, trying to find a comfortable position. The time on her atomic alarm clock shone in neon green. 3:19 AM. Vanessa sighed, finally admitting defeat to her insomnia, and got up and walked to the kitchen. She grabbed a coke and sat down at the table to drink it, staring at the wall.

"Mommy?" a small voice suddenly said. Vanessa turned to see her five-year-old daughter standing in the kitchen doorway. "What are you doing up? The sun's not even out yet." She yawned.

"Oh, mommy couldn't sleep. That's all, baby. What are you doing up?" Vanessa asked.

"I couldn't sleep either." She whispered as she climbed onto Vanessa's lap.

"Oh. Why did you wake up, Asari?"

"I had a bad dream, Mommy." Asari shrugged. "It was about Avani... and him. It scared me really bad." She said, barely audible. Her mother couldn't even speak; she just hugged her daughter and rocked her back and forth. "Why did you wake up, Mommy? Did you have a bad dream too?"

"No, baby. That's not why I woke up. It's why I never went to sleep..." She said quietly as she kissed the top of her daughter's head.

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"Ness? Asari?" Zac called as he walked downstairs, only to see the two sleeping on the couch in the living room. "Nessa, wake up baby." He said softly to his wife. Her eyes fluttered open slightly. "Hey, sweetie. It's 10 o'clock. Do you wanna get up?"

"Today's Saturday, right?" Vanessa questioned sleepily. Zac nodded and smiled, kissing her on the cheek as she slowly fell back asleep. Just then, the doorbell rang. Zac hurried away to answer it.

"Hi, Zac." Corbin said when Zac opened the door. "How's it going, man?"

"It's okay. Ness and Asari are sleeping on the couch so we have to be quiet." Zac whispered. Corbin smiled and nodded. The two walked into the kitchen and sat down.

"So, how's she holding up?" Corbin questioned quietly.

"She's okay, I guess. I'm not really sure. She doesn't talk about it, you know." Zac replied solemnly.

"Well, I can understand that. I probably wouldn't talk about it much either, man. But, how are you doing, Z?"

"Getting better, somedays are better than others but I guess we're making it." Zac answered his friend, trying more to convince himself that he was okay than Corbin.

"We're all just making it, I guess. We all feel your pain and you know we're here for you. I speak for everybody when I say that." Zac smiled sadly.

"Thanks, Corbin. Seriously, you have been great. All of you have and, well, I don't know what we'd do without you and all our friends." Just then, the doorbell rang again. Zac excused himself and ran to answer it. When he came back into the kitchen, Lucas and Ashley were right behind him.

"Hey Corbin." Lucas and Ashley said in unison, they both looked at each other and blushed. Zac and Corbin exchanged a glance of confusion but ignored it.

"Hi, Daddy!" Asari said as she walked into the room.

"Hey baby! Did you sleep well?" Zac asked her. She nodded and then hugged Ashley tightly.

"Wanna come color with me, Ashey?" She asked sweetly. Ashley nodded and followed her out of the room, smiling at Lucas as she went.

"So, Luc, what the heck was with that?" Corbin asked when Ashley had left.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Corbin." Lucas said, staring at the ground. Corbin only laughed and shook his head. Zac started laughing too, also getting a kick out of making the older boy blush. "Okay! Thank you, that's enough. You can all stop laughing at me now." Lucas groaned as Corbin continued laughing. Just then, the phone rang. Corbin picked it up since he was closest.

"Um, Zac... it's him."

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Zac stared at Corbin, holding the phone before Corbin brought Zac back to reality.

"Zac, man hurry, answer it!" Corbin exclaimed, holding the phone out to him.

"Hello?" Zac said with a husky voice, trying to not show his weaknesses.

"She's not dead. She is with me. Do you want her back?" the voice said.

"What the hell are you doing to my daugh..." Zac started to say but then got cut off by the voice of his sweet daughter.

"Daddy, Daddy where are you? I miss you daddy, please come help me. I lo-." The phone then cut off. Zac took the phone and threw it against the wall as hard as he could.

"What the hell does he want with me?" Zac yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Zac, calm down, your gonna wake V up." Lucas said, stepping up in front of Zac, putting his hands on his shoulders. Zac took a deep breath and walked into the living room to see Vanessa sitting up on the couch.

"Good morning baby." Zac smiled, walking over to the couch and taking Vanessa in his arms.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"What do you mean? Nothing is wrong." Zac said, wrapping his arms around Vanessa.

"I heard you yelling, I know it was him." Vanessa said, tears in her eyes. She tried to hold them in, but released them as Zac holds her. "I want my baby back. I want to be a family again," she said, sobbing.

"Hey, listen to me babe." Zac said, putting his fingers under her chin and lifting it up so he can look into her eyes. "We are going to get her back, and we are going to be a family again, but to tell you the truth, we never stopped being a family." Zac said, kissing her lips tenderly. Vanessa put a small smile on her face as Corbin and Lucas walk into the room.

"Whoa, sorry we interrupted." Lucas said as Zac and Vanessa pull away. "Hey guys," Vanessa says blushing a little bit.

"Hey V." Both Corbin and Lucas say at the same time.

"Hey Corb, Luc." Vanessa said as she got up off of the couch slowly and walked into the kitchen to get herself some coffee.

"She is still a little weak." Zac said looking at the couch.

"Dude, cheer up. She just needs time. It has only been 5 months. That's not too much time." Lucas said, as Ashley walked into the room with Asari.

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KelsiLovesLucas: Hello, dedicated reader peeps! How are all of you? Yes, we're back, alive and kicking! This story is probably going to be the last in this dramatic trilogy, but like I said in the last story, we might change our minds. We have a few surprises up our sleeves; you never know what's going to happen next! There might be some twists in here, so if you think you know what's going to happen then you better think again cause you probably have no idea what's coming next! Well, it's now time to leave you but don't worry, you won't have to walk away empty-handed! We leave you with this brand new chapter! And, in return, you can leave us with a nice little review about how much you loved this chappie and how much you can't wait for the next one, okay? I love you all so much, you make me smile! God bless all of you, KelsiLovesLucas

**MissZacEfron: OMG! Did you guys just love that chapter, or what? I know Kelsi and I loved writing it! It was great! Okay, so I know you all know the drill, but I'm going to go over it again just in case you forgot. Okay, Step One: Move your little mousie over to the cute little button. Step Two: Give your mousie a little pat on the head, "Good Job Mousie!" Step Three: Click the cute little button. Step Three has a major impact on the life of this story. If you do not click it, you could make this story not go on... lol!! Did you like my Step-by-Step guide to reviewing for this story? I hope you did! Okay, so please review!! I love writing this story, and I know Kelsi does too. Maybe you should look for more stories by us in the future. Hint Hint Wink Wink lol! Okay, this is getting long! Much Love to all of Our Readers and Reviewers, God Bless, MissZacEfron!**

**HEY, YOU! REVIEW PLEASE! The life of this story is in your hands! If you don't review, then my hand just might "accidentally" slip over to the DELETE STORY button and I might click it! You wouldn't want that to happen, now would you? Didn't think so… REVIEW! OR ELSE ((and you know what "or else" means!))**

**LOL!!! I thought that would be funny to put. Okay, later peeps! See ya next chappie! -KelsiLovesLucas**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: First and foremost, this story was COAUTHORED by me ((KelsiLovesLucas)) and MissZacEfron. This is the sequel to' Happy Ending? Not Happy Enough' and the third after 'The Perfect Life Gone Wrong' . If you haven't read the first or second one, then we suggest that you go read that first. Okay, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: And guess what… we still own nothing.

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Chapter Two

_"No, please don't hurt my daughters, hurt me Dad. Please don't do it." Vanessa begged, as her Dad tightened his hands around her neck. "Dad, no." she shouts, before her world turns black._

Vanessa woke up, panting and out of breath and sobbing. She turned over, seeing her husband, Zac Efron, sleeping peacefully next to her.

"Zac, help me." Vanessa whispered, her body shaking with every shallow breath she takes. Zac woke up quickly, only to see his wife crying.

"Hey, baby what's wrong?" Zac asked, pulling Vanessa in between his legs, rocking her gently. "Was it another nightmare?" Zac asked, kissing the top of her head. Vanessa nodded her head slowly, still shaking with sobs. Zac put his hands on the side of her waist, turning her around so she was facing him.

"I know the nightmares scare you, but you have to know they aren't real, and I'm here, and I would never let anything happen to you." Zac said, looking deep into Vanessa's eyes.

"I can't get rid of them, they scare me," she said, still shaking.

"I know, I know they do." Zac said, wrapping his arms tightly around Vanessa, making sure she felt safe in his arms. He turned his head to Vanessa, kissing her lips tenderly. "Are you okay now?" Zac asked, once he pulled away from her lips.

"I think, just don't let go of me, ever." Vanessa said, closing her eyes slowly.

"I promise, I won't ever let go of you, not now, not ever." Zac said, kissing her forehead softly. He looked at her, smiling to himself, hearing her breathing get even. He laid his head back onto the pillow, his arms still wrapped loosely around Vanessa's waist, closing his eyes slowly, drifting off to sleep.

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"Mommy, Mommy...It's time to wake up!" a young 5-year old Asari whispered to her mom. Vanessa rolled over in bed, realizing Zac is not there.

"Hey sweetie, what are you doing up?" Vanessa asked curiously.

"Aunt Ashley and Aunt Monique are taking me to the park today!" Asari said in an excited voice.

"That's good, where is your daddy?" Vanessa asked, getting out of bed and slipping her small feet into her fluffy pink slippers.

"He is downstairs making breakfast for you," her daughter said, twirling around next to the bed. Vanessa took Asari in her arms and walked downstairs, seeing Zac standing over the stove cooking.

"Why don't you go in the play room until your Aunt Ashley and Aunt Monique get here, okay Asari?" Vanessa said after she set her on the ground. Asari ran off to the playroom, grabbing her Barbie dolls. Vanessa walked over to Zac, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Hey you, good morning." Vanessa said, kissing the back of Zac's head.

"Hey baby, sleep good?" Zac asked, turning around and revealing the pancakes cooking on the stove. Vanessa smiled at the smell of the delicious pancakes.

"I slept pretty good, you?" Vanessa said, trying to forget about the incident when she woke up earlier that morning.

"I always sleep wonderful next to you." Zac said, with a wide smile on his lips. Vanessa kissed him lightly on the lips, pulling away slowly.

"So...What are we doing while Asari is out with Ash and Mo?" Vanessa asked, smiling.

"We are doing whatever you would like to do." Zac said, smiling at his beautiful wife.

"We haven't gone through our wedding photos lately, lets do that." Vanessa said with excitement on her face. "And maybe we can go out to dinner tonight, I'm sure Ash and Mo wouldn't mind watching Asari for a little bit longer tonight, maybe until like 10. Then we can pick her up," she said.

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind, maybe we can get Corbin to watch her." Zac smiled.

"He is not watching my daughter." Vanessa exclaimed, only joking though. "I'm going to go and get dressed, I'll be down in a few minutes." Vanessa said, walking back up the stairs.

Zac continued to make the pancakes, until the phone rang. Zac ran over, thinking it might be Ashley or Monique.

"Hello?" Zac asked.

"Is this Mr. Efron?" the voice asked.

"Yes, it is. Can I help you?" Zac asked, getting nervous. Zac looked up, and saw Vanessa standing at the top of the stairs, tears in her eyes.

"We need you to come down to the hospital and identify someone," the hospital operator said.

"Can you tell me who it is?" Zac asked, not wanting to hear it.

"The inside of the jacket says 'Avani Efron'." the man said simply.

Zac hung up the phone quickly, tears coming to his eyes. Vanessa saw the look on his face and rushed downstairs.

"What is it?" She asked, taking Zac's hands in hers.

"The hospital needs us to identify someone." he said to Vanessa.

"Oh my gosh, who is it?" Vanessa asked, shocked

"Avani." Zac told Vanessa. Tears sprang to her eyes, quickly rushing down her face. She fell into Zac's arms, sobbing.

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Zac called Ashley quickly, with Vanessa still crying in his arms. Zac and Vanessa were sitting on the couch, Vanessa in a total state of shock.

"Hey Zac." Ashley said, checking the caller id before she answered.

"Ash?" Zac said, his voice a little shaky.

"Zac, are you okay? What's wrong?" Ashley asked, being able to hear Vanessa crying in the background. "What's wrong? Are you and Ness okay?" Ashley asked, grabbing her car keys and running out to her car.

"Ashley, Can you watch Asari for us, Vanessa and I have to leave for a little bit." Zac said, carrying Vanessa upstairs, Asari wondering what is wrong with her parents.

"Of course, I'm on my way over now." Ashley said, so many thoughts were running through her head.

"I'll explain it to you when you get here." Zac said, hanging up his phone quickly. Zac sat down nest to Vanessa, who was still crying.

"My… baby… is… dead!" Vanessa said, sobs making it hard to understand. Zac pulled her into an embrace, rubbing her back softly.

"Hey, baby look at me." Zac said with a soft voice, he lifted Vanessa's head up. "We don't know that, you have to stay positive, okay?" he said, kissing her forehead softly.

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"Are you home Zac?" Ashley called out in the huge house.

"Up here." Zac yelled down the stairs. Ashley quickly ran up the stairs and into Zac and Vanessa's bedroom, seeing Vanessa laying on the bed crying and Zac sitting behind her rubbing her back. Ashley rushed over to the bed, kneeling down beside it.

"Nessa, its Ash." she said, gently rubbing her best friends back also. Vanessa looked up slowly, her eyes red and puffy.

"Ashley." Vanessa cried out, hugging her friend tightly. Ashley looked over at Zac and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Hey, its okay." Ashley said soothingly into her friend's ear.

"No its not, Avani is dead." Vanessa said, new tears streaming down her face. Zac looked at Ashley, seeing a shocked look on her face. Ashley looked to Zac, who gave her a reassuring look.

"Do you guys need to leave now? I'll watch Asari for you." Ashley said, sitting on the bed.

"We should probably get going, but we will be back soon." Zac said.

"Do you want me to call Monique, Corbin and Lucas over?" Ashley asked, as Zac nods his head. "We're here for you guys, you know that right?" Ashley asked.

"We know, and we really appreciate it." Zac said, hugging Ashley tightly as a tear slipped from Ashley's eyes, hating to see two of her best friends in so much pain. "We'll be back later, and there is food in the kitchen, help yourself to it." he said, helping Vanessa walk out of the room.

Ashley followed Zac and Vanessa out of their room and downstairs. "Do you want me to go with you guys? I'll call Lucas to watch Asari." Ashley offered.

"I think we'll be fine Ash, but thanks." Zac said, calling Asari into the room. Asari came running in, jumping into Ashley's arms when she saw her. "Asari, me and mommy are leaving for a little bit, we will be home though," he said, kissing her on the cheek softly, Vanessa doing the same thing.

"It's going to be a long day." Zac whispered to himself while walking out the door with Nessa in front of him.

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**MissZacEfron- Hey everyone!! Okay, I hope you loved this chapter, I think it took me 4 hours to think of! Kelsi has broken her thumb ((tears)), So I'm going to be doing the writing for a few more chapters. Maybe if we get a ton of reviews, she will come back sooner! So please read AND review!! Much love to all of our readers and reviewers, from Kelsi and I. God Bless!**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: First and foremost, this story was COAUTHORED by me ((KelsiLovesLucas)) and MissZacEfron. This is the sequel to' Happy Ending? Not Happy Enough' and the third after 'The Perfect Life Gone Wrong' . If you haven't read the first or second one, then we suggest that you go read that first. Okay, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: And guess what… we still own nothing.

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Chapter Three

There, in front of two parents, was their daughter, lying on the table, dead. Zac and Vanessa just stood there, no expression on either of their faces, as they cannot believe one of their beloved children is dead. The doctor covers Avani back up with the sheet, giving Zac and Vanessa a look of apology and sympathy, as he walks away slowly.

"I can't believe she is dead, Zac. One of our babies is dead. How can this be?" Vanessa said, looking Zac in the eyes.

"I know baby, I don't know how your Dad could do this, but I promise, he is going to pay for this." Zac said, bringing his wife closer to him, embracing her in a hug. "I love you baby, and I know this is going to be hard, for all of us, but we will make it, I promise."

Vanessa nodded her head slowly, listening to Zac's soothing voice as he talked to her. "Can we go home? I want to be with you and Asari, and our friends." Vanessa said, looking up at Zac.

"Of course baby, we can." Zac said, wrapping his arms around Vanessa's waist, walking with her out to their car. Once they were both in the car, Zac started it up, driving out of the hospital parking lot. Vanessa laid her head on the cold window, thinking over the day's events.

They pull up into the driveway, tears now streaming down her face as she got out of the car, walking into the house before Zac. Vanessa slammed the front door, her emotions of Avani getting to her as she ran up the stairs, past Ashley, Lucas, Monique and Corbin as they all heard her bedroom door slam as Zac walked into the house, tears in his own eyes. Ashley ran over to Zac first, followed by the rest of the gang.

"Zac, what happened?" Ashley asked, worried about her best friends.

"She's dead, Ash. She's really dead." Zac said, not being able to handle it, breaking down in Ashley's arms as Corbin and Lucas help him over to the couch, helping him sit down. Lucas put his hand on Zac's shoulders, comforting him.

"What happened?" Lucas asked, comforting Zac.

"They haven't ran the tests on her yet, to find out what killed her, but she's dead." Zac said bluntly, not wanting to go into full detail.

"Man, I'm so sorry. I never wanted this to happen to you and Nessa, you two don't deserve this to happen to you." Corbin said, laying his hand on Zac's back.

"We're going to go check on Vanessa." Monique said, walking away with Ashley behind her. They walk up the stairs slowly, walking into Vanessa's bedroom. They look in the room, seeing Vanessa curled up on the bed, crying softly into a pillow. They walk into the room, closing the door, but leaving it open a little bit. Ashley walks over to Vanessa, Monique not far behind her.

"Hey Ness." Ashley said, rubbing Vanessa's back softly. Vanessa looked up, her eyes were red and puffy and mascara lines ran down her cheeks from crying. Monique and Ashley sat down on the bed, one on either side of her. "Hey, Ness, look at me." Ashley said, lifting her chin up to look at her. "It's okay, everything is going to be okay." Ashley said soothingly.

"My baby is dead Ashley, it's not going to be okay." Vanessa cried, tears slowly running down her face.

"No, you have to stay positive. We are all here for you." Monique said, wiping the tears off of Vanessa's face. Vanessa nodded, as she looked to the door, she saw Lucas walking in the door. Lucas walked over to the bed; Ashley and Monique stood up and walked out the door so that Lucas and Vanessa could talk.

"Hey Ness." Lucas said, sitting next to Vanessa on the bed.

"Hi Luc." Vanessa replied, more tears falling down her face, at a faster pace. Lucas brought Vanessa into a tight hug. "Lucas, its all my fault. He could have killed me." Vanessa said, wiggling out of his grip and standing up facing away from him. "Its all my fault." she whispered quietly. Lucas came up behind her, catching her before she fell.

"Come on, sit here, I'm going to go get Zac." Lucas said, laying her on the bed. Lucas walked out of the room quickly. Zac walked in the room a few minutes later, seeing Vanessa sitting up, her legs up to her chest. He went over to her quickly.

"Baby." Zac whispered quietly, sitting on the bed next to Vanessa. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, bringing her close to him.

"Zac, why is this happening? Why is this happening to us?" She asked him, looking into his eyes.

"Everything happens for a reason, we just don't know what that reason is." Zac said, gently brushing Vanessa's hair out of her face. Vanessa stopped crying, lying with Zac, his arms wrapped lightly around her. The two lay on their bed, falling asleep quickly, waiting for what is brought to them in the future.

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**MissZacEfron: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Drama, Drama, Drama! But it's good with lots of drama! Okay, well I think Kelsi's thumb is feeling better, I hope so! So please review for this chapter, We need all the reviews we can get; and if you have any suggestions for upcoming chapters, private message me or Kelsi, and if we use your ideas, we promise we'll give you credit! So please R&R! Much Love and God Bless, MissZacEfron.**

**KelsiLovesLucas: Hey all! Okay, this entire chappie was written by MissZacEfron as was the last one but my thumb is better now so I will be helping her write the next chapter! Whoo-hoo! Thanks to everybody who has reviewed so far and thanks to everyone for wishing my thumb to get better soon. That was sweet! Well, please read and review and we will get the next chapter up as soon as possible! I love you all! God bless, KelsiLovesLucas**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: First and foremost, this story was COAUTHORED by me ((KelsiLovesLucas)) and MissZacEfron. This is the sequel to' Happy Ending? Not Happy Enough' and the third after 'The Perfect Life Gone Wrong' . If you haven't read the first or second one, then we suggest that you go read that first. Okay, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: Nope, we own nothing. Sad, I know…

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Chapter Four 

"I honestly don't know where to start. I feel the five years that I had with Avani were very short. I know that I can't replace her, but she will always be in my heart." Vanessa starts out by saying, but already sobbing. "I can't believe that she was taken from me, but I know that she will always be watching over Zac and I, and Asari. I just wish she would have had more time here, with the people that love her." Vanessa says, crying into her hands now.

"It's okay baby." Zac whispers in her ear, standing next to her on the podium.

Vanessa started to speak again but stopped. "I can't do this, Zac," she whispered to her husband before running out of the church. Zac ran out after her, as everyone in the church began mumbling to one another. The couple's friends looked back and forth at each other. Finally, Corbin ran up to the podium.

"Okay, I guess that's it. Everyone, I'm sure none of us can understand how Zac and Nessa are feeling right now but we can guess that this must be very hard for them. Thank you all for coming, it meant a lot to them." Corbin rambled before rushing out of the church to follow Zac and Vanessa, all the others following close behind.

Corbin ran out of the church, followed by Monique, Ashley and Lucas. He looked everywhere for his two friends, finally spotting them out in the graveyard, by where Avani is going to be burried. He walks over slowly, making sure to give them time by themselves.

"Zac, I can't do this. It's too hard for me." Vanessa says through her sobs while she sobs into Zac's chest. "Baby, I know it's hard for you, it's hard for me too, and for everyone else." Zac says, not wanting to mention their other daughter, thinking it might make Vanessa even more upset.

"What are we going to do? What are we going to tell Asari when she gets older? Are we just going to sit her down and say, ' My father killed your twin sister, so now you're an only child.' Is that really what we want to tell her?" she asks, more tears building up in her eyes.

Zac hugged his wife tightly as she sobbed into his shoulder. "I know it's hard right now, babe. But we will figure things out soon, I promise. Trust me, it's gonna be okay." Zac whispered into her ear.

"Oh, Zac! How can you be so calm?" Vanessa asked as she pulled away and looked into Zac's blue eyes.

"I'm not calm, babe. Not even close. I'm just trying my hardest to be strong, for you and for Asari." He told her. Vanessa smiled and hugged him once more. Suddenly, Corbin appeared and cleared his throat.

"Corbin cleared everything up in there. You guys okay?" Ashley asked soothingly. Her two friends smiled and stood. Vanessa hugged Corbin tightly.

"Thank you so much." She whispered to him. "Thanks to all of you, we'd be completely lost without you guys." She said to the others.

Monique stepped up, followed by Lucas. "We will always be here for you and Zac. If you ever need anything, just tell us." Monique says as Lucas walks over to Zac, giving him a tight hug, then moving onto Vanessa, giving her a hug also.

"You guys are amazing." Vanessa says, smiling slightly at her friends standing in front of her.

"We are always here for you, don't forget it." Ashley says, wiping the floating tears away from Vanessa's eyes. "What time is the burial?" Ashley asks quietly, seeing the tears spring to Vanessa's eyes.

"I don't know. I'll be back." Vanessa says, running off, not knowing where, but needing to get away.

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Vanessa keeps running until she is back in the church, everyone is already out, the light sounds from her running echoing through out the church as she enters. She runs up to the front of the church, where Avani's casket still is. She rests her head on it, crying softly. "Why did this have to happen, why did you have to go?" Vanessa screams, letting her emotions take over. "I never wanted this to happen, I wish you were still here. I wish you never left me." Vanessa shouts as her tears hit the wooden casket.

Vanessa continued crying over the casket until she heard soft footsteps coming up behind her. She lifted her head up and fell into the chest of the person behind her, not caring who it was, just needing someone to lean on.

"It's okay, Ness." The person whispered to her, kissing the top of her head softly. She lifted her head up to see the icey-blue eyes of Lucas.

"Luc, everything is so wrong! I didn't want to say anything to Zac or Asari or anybody but I just am so scared. I can't believe he could do this to my baby! A baby, Lucas, just a little girl!" Vanessa sobbed.

"I know, I know! Vanessa, trust me, I know. But he's gonna pay, okay? We won't let him get away with this! I promise you, we won't." Lucas said firmly, holding her hands tightly.

"I know, Lucas. I trust you. But, I'm just worried, what if he comes after Asari? I can't lose both of them! I would die if I lost Asari, too. She's all I have left..."

"No, she's not. You have me and Zac and Corbin and Monique and Ashley. You have all of us and we won't let anything happen to you or Asari." Lucas told her.

"How can you be sure nothing will happen to her or me?" Vanessa asked, tears still falling down her cheeks.

"You said you trusted me." Lucas said. Vanessa nodded. "So, trust me."

Vanessa nods her head slowly, still staring at Lucas's icey-blue eyes. "How is everything going to be okay, though?" Vanessa asks, a few tears coming to her eyes again. "I'm so scared Lucas." she says, burying her head into his chest, sending piecing sobs throughout the church. Lucas notices Vanessa's crying getting out of hand, as he tries to calm her down.

"Vanessa, you have to calm down." Lucas says, rubbing her back softly. Lucas looks up, seeing Zac and Corbin walking into the church, Monique and Ashley right behind them. Zac runs up to where his wife and friend are, noticing her breathing getting short and shallow.

Zac walked up behind Vanessa just as she collapsed toward the ground, barely catching her. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her out to the car. "Lucas, is she gonna be okay?" Ashley asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea..." Lucas said softly, putting his arm around Ashley. Corbin smiled at the two before walking out with Monique.

Corbin opened the door to the car as Zac lowered Vanessa into the passenger's seat. The door slammed shut and Zac smiled at his friend. "Thanks, Corbin. It's just like Vanessa said, we'd be lost without you and everybody else." Zac said. He felt the heat of tears welling up in his eyes and rushed to the driver's side of the car.

As Zac reached for the door handle, Corbin stopped him. Zac was engulfed into a hug. "I'm here for you, man. We all are. It's gonna be okay." Corbin said. Zac smiled and got into the car, driving away.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM   
Vanessa laid her head against the cold window, as Zac drove them away, back to their house. Vanessa couldn't handle being at the burial of her daughter, so they just headed home. Vanessa sat up straight in the car's seat, resting her hands in her lap. She glances over at Zac, seeing a few tears running down his face, making her think of how bad this is effecting both of them. 

"Zac..." she whispers softly, hoping he hears her.

Zac takes his eyes off the road, looking over at Vanessa. "Yeah babe?"

"I love you." Vanessa says, giving into the pain that is settled on their family and friends, all the tears she has been holding in forever rushing down her face.

Zac pulls into their driveway, turning the car off quickly. "Oh Vanessa." he says, taking her in his arms as she cries. "I love you too, and I'm always here for you." Zac says, rubbing her back softly. "Come on, let's get inside," he says after they have sat in the car for a few minutes. He climbs out of the car, walking over to Vanessa's door, opening it and helping her out. He picks her up, afraid that she is too weak to walk.

Zac laid Vanessa down on the couch in the living room and sat next to her. She closed her eyes and took slow, deep breaths. "I can't live like this, Zac." Vanessa whispered. "I swear that sometimes I wish I was the one who got killed..."

"No, Ness, don't think like that!" Zac said quietly.

"Why, Zac? It's the truth! Anything is better than losing my baby, it'd be better to lose me."

"No, it wouldn't cause then I'd be here without you! I can't live without you, Vanessa! Please, don't think that way. I love you so much; we'll get through this together because we love each other and because our friends love us. I promise you, things will get better!" Zac exclaimed, a few tears falling down his cheeks. Vanessa stared at him in silence for a moment.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Vanessa jumped slightly at the noise and then stood to answer it. "Mom!" she shouted in joy as she saw her mother standing in the doorway with Asari. Vanessa picked up her daughter and gestured for her mother to come inside. Zac quickly wiped the tears from his face and stood up.

"I can't stay; I just wanted to bring Asari by. She missed you guys." Vanessa's mom said. She hugged her daughter and left without another word.

"Mommy, are you okay?" Asari asked her mother.

"Yeah, I am now that I've got you." She smiled, kissing her daughter. "Come on, let's go to your room and you can play."

Vanessa carried Asari upstairs, wanting to spend time with her. When they got to Asari's room, Vanessa looked around at the walls, seeing all of Avani's stuff. " I'll be right back, baby." Vanessa says before she rushes out of the room. She runs into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her, making the room shake, as a picture Avani and her falls from the wall, sending glass shattering everywhere. "Avani, why did you have to leave? Why did you have to leave me? Why couldn't he have just taken me?" Vanessa shouts, throwing the remaining wood frame at the bedroom door, sending a few chunks of wood to the floor. "It wasn't suppose to be this way, it wasn't suppose to be like this," she says, trying to get up, collapsing to the ground again.

Zac heard the faint sound from downstairs, rushing up the stairs to find the bedroom door locked. He ran into Asari's room, seeing her sleeping on the floor. He ran back to the outside of his and Vanessa's bedroom. "Ness, you have to open the door," he said, knocking on the door lightly. "Come on, Vanessa." Zac said, not getting a response from her.

Zac, getting worried, started jiggling the doorknob, trying to get it open. He took a deep breath and ran into the door, grabbing his shoulder in pain. "Okay, don't try the again!" He whispered to himself. "Ness! Please, open up!" He shouted, banging on the door.

Suddenly, Zac heard somebody running up the stairs. "MOVE!" Lucas and Corbin shouted at the same time. Zac jumped out of the way just as his two friends slammed themselves into the door. The door collapsed and Zac raced inside, seeing Vanessa lying on the floor unconscious.

"How'd you know what was going on?" Zac asked as he lifted her head up into his lap.

"We were outside and heard you. We figured something was wrong and came in." Corbin explained as he got up off the ground. Lucas stood and rubbed his shoulder.

"Thanks. Now, help me. We've gotta get her to the hospital. Lucas, get Asari and meet us there." Zac said. The blond nodded and ran down the hall. Corbin and Zac both picked up Vanessa and headed outside.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM 

Once they get Vanessa in the car, Corbin jumps in the drivers seat, putting his foot hard onto the gas, rushing off to the hospital. Zac's in the backseat with Vanessa, softly brushing the hair out of her eyes. "You have to be okay Vanessa. Please, be okay for me." Zac says, as a few tears fall down his face, landing on Vanessa's wedding band. "I love you." Zac whispers as they get to the hospital. Zac quickly gets out of the car, noticing Lucas pulling into the parking spot next to him. Zac rushes Vanessa into the hospital, stopping at the front desk.

The older lady at the desk looks up at Zac. "Can I help you?" she asks. "My wife, she is unconscious. I don't know what happened." Zac says, tears welling up in his eyes.

The receptionist nodded and waved a doctor over, explaining what Zac had just told her. The doctor rushed over, followed by two men with a stretcher. "Lay her down." The doctor ordered. Zac did as he was told and they began to wheel Vanessa away.

"No! I have to go with her!" Zac shouted.

"I'm afraid you can't do that." The doctor said stiffly. "We'll let you know what we find out." With that, he walked away.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM 

Zac paced back and forth in the waiting room, his friends sitting down. Monique and Ashley had gone to get something to drink. "Z, please, sit down! You're making me dizzy!" Corbin said to his friend.

"And you're making me nervous. She'll be okay..." Lucas began.

"How can you say that, Lucas? How do you know? I can't believe this is happening! What did any of us do to deserve this? It's not fair!" Zac shouted as he dropped to his knees and broke down crying. Lucas rushed over and sat by him on the floor.

"Zac, it's okay. I promise you, everything is going to be all right." Lucas told him calmly. Then, Ashley and Monique walked into the waiting room.

Ashley looks at Zac, looking like she is going to break down too. She rushes over to Zac, dropping to her knees.

"Zac, please don't do this. She is going to be fine, I swear. Vanessa is a tough girl, and she isn't going anywhere." Ashley says quietly, rubbing his back softly. 

"Yeah, we all know how strong Vanessa is, and she would never leave you. I promise, she'll be fine." Monique says, stepping closer to Corbin.

"She's going to be fine, both of you will. We are all here for you, remember that." Lucas says to his friend, still kneeling on the ground next to him.

"It's okay." Corbin whispers, placing his hand softly on Zac's back. "We're here for you man."

Suddenly, the doctor cleared his throat, announcing his presence. The five friends all stood and looked at him expectantly. "She's gonna be fine." The doctor smiled. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "She bumped her head when she fell and so she'll have a headache for a while. She has a slight concussion so make sure that she doesn't sleep for the next 24 hours and if she does fall asleep, make sure that you wake her up every ten minutes or less." He told them.

"Why'd she pass out in the first place?" Corbin asked.

"Nervous breakdown. That's another thing you need to know, try and keep the stress level to minimum." 

"That's not up to us..." Zac muttered to himself.

"She's getting ready to go home. The nurse at the front desk will show you to her room whenever you're ready to go." The doctor said, right before walking out.

"C'mon, Zac. Let's go get Nessa." Monique smiled, walking out with her friends.

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Zac walked slowly behind his friends, on their way to go to Vanessa's room. They all stop at the front desk, Ashley asking where her room is. Once they find out, they make the journey to her room. Ashley and Monique stop outside of her room.

"Zac, I think you should go in first." Ashley says quietly, looking at him.

"Ashley, I can't." Zac says, knowing that it is his entire fault she collapsed. "It's all my fault she collapsed, why didn't I stop the stress. Why didn't I?" Zac shouts, getting glares from the nurses walking in the hall.

"Zac, please don't." A small voice says. The five friends whip their heads around, seeing Vanessa's frail body standing at the door.

"Ness." Zac whispers softly before taking her in his arms. "I'm so glad your okay, you scared me." He whispers, stroking her hair gently. Zac lets go of her, letting Corbin and Lucas hug her, then Ashley and Monique.

"Never scare us like that again." Lucas says, smiling slightly at Vanessa.

"You had me really worried, Ness." Ashley says, hugging her best friend again. "You're not aloud to do that any more, do you understand me?" Ashley says laughing.

"Needless to say, we all missed you." Monique says in her soft toned voice.

Vanessa smiled at her friends and they all walked out of the hospital. Vanessa sat in the passenger's seat of Zac's car. Once everyone else had headed away already, planning to meet back at Zac and Vanessa's, Zac turned to smile at his wife. "What is it, Zac?" She asked, noticing him staring at her.

"I'm just so lucky to have you in my life. There have been so many times when I almost lost you but I haven't and that just goes to show that we are meant to be together, forever." Zac said with a smile. Vanessa smiled back and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Let's go home, to our friends." She told him. He nodded and headed away from the hospital and back to the house.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Zac pulled into the driveway and helped Vanessa inside the house. "Ness, I'm gonna grab something to drink. Want anything?" Ashley offered. Vanessa shook her head and Ashley headed into the kitchen. Lucas watched her walk away for a minute then got up and followed her into the kitchen.

"Lucas and Ashley sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g..." Corbin sang softly with a laugh. Monique slapped him playfully on the arm and laughed silently. Zac smiled and sat next to Vanessa, pulling her over onto his lap.

After a few moments, Corbin stood up off the couch. "I'm just gonna go see what's taking them so long..." He said before rushing into the kitchen.

"What do you wanna do, Ness?" Monique asked.

"Let's watch a movie." She suggested. Mo nodded and started looking through the movie collection to find which to watch.

Corbin walks into the kitchen, not believing what he sees.

"You know, I haven't gotten my kiss today." Lucas says, standing in front of Ashley, who is pushed up against the counter.

"Very funny, Lucas." Ashley says laughing, not noticing Corbin standing there.

"You know you still love me." Lucas whispers into her ear, kissing her ear lightly, finding his way to her lips and kissing her softly.

Corbin blinked a few times, still not believing what he saw, then rushed out of the room, throwing himself onto the couch and covering his face with a pillow. "Corbin? What the heck are you doing?" Monique asked as she popped Pirates of the Caribbean 2 in the DVD player.

"My... eyes... burn!" He screamed into the pillow. Zac and Vanessa gave him a strange look.

"What are you talking about? And take that pillow off your face!" Monique exclaimed, ripping the pillow from his hands.

"Lucas... and Ashley... and they were... and I saw... and, ohmigosh! I'm going blind!" He shouted, dropping to his knees dramatically. Monique jumped away from him and stared at him skeptically.

"Okay, well, that helps..." Just then, Lucas and Ashley walked into the living room with some soda and popcorn.

"Hey guys. What are we doing?" Lucas asked.

"Watching Pirates." Monique told him, still staring at Corbin.

Corbin got up off the floor. "I'm gonna get a cracker." He said. "I know your dirty little secret, Lucas!" He hissed into the blond boy's ear as he walked by.

"Um, okay, Corbin." Lucas replied, shuddering. He sat on the couch as the movie started, Ashley sitting next to him.

Monique just stared at Lucas and Ashley as the movie started. Her eyes moved from her friends to Zac, who was starting to close his eyes. Corbin came back into the room, sitting on the couch next to Monique.

"Are you sure your okay Corbin?" Monique asks, not being able to help having a smirk on her face.

"Yeah, I'm cool. I was just being dramatic, like always." Corbin says, blushing slightly. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay, I guess." Monique says, looking away from Corbin, looking at the flat screen TV that is mounted on the living room wall. They all watched the movie in silence, the occasional sound of Corbin chewing his crackers.

As the movie continued on, Corbin would occasionally look over at his friends. Vanessa was watching the movie intently and Zac kept dozing off into sleep. Lucas and Ashley only sat and watched the movie, with the occasional smile at each other. "You two! Keep your hands where I can see them!" Corbin ordered the two. They both jumped and stared at him. Monique slapped Corbin on the head.

"What is wrong with you? Knock it off! Watch the movie!" She exclaimed. Corbin sank down on the couch and nibbled on a cracker. It had been 45 minutes since he found out about Lucas and Ashley, the image of them kissing permanently engraved into his brain. This was the longest he had ever kept a secret, beating his old record of two and a half minutes.

Lucas glanced over at Corbin, giving him a glare as to say "Don't you dare tell anyone". Corbin felt the secret burning into his brain, being able to see the image on the TV screen. Monique kept watching the movie, hearing the slight noise of Zac snoring, and hearing the yawns coming from Ashley.

Ashley smiled at Lucas again, putting her hand on top of his, but instantly taking it away once Corbin looked over at her. Ashley could feel her face heating up, her cheeks turning a bright rose red.

Ashley felt herself drifting asleep as her eyes closed. She let her head fall over onto Lucas' shoulder and he smiled and laid his head on top of hers. Corbin was about to say something when Lucas looked at him. "You said keep our HANDS where you can see them! This has nothing to do with our hands... and I can't help where she falls asleep." Lucas whispered with a smirk. Corbin crossed his arms and pouted.

"What is the matter with you, Corbin?" Monique asked, glaring. Corbin only shrugged, afraid that if he spoke then he would tell everything. This was the longest hour of his life. Lucas smiled at him, as if saying thanks and Corbin only glared.

Zac woke up as the lights flicked on in the room. "Wow, I missed the whole movie?" He yawned.

"Yeah, you did." Vanessa smiled, kissing him lightly on the lips. 

"Where are Ashley and Lucas?" Zac asked. Corbin bit his tongue so he wouldn't say anything.

"I don't know. They both went into the kitchen a minute ago." Monique told him. "Wanna watch another movie?" She asked.

"Sure! I'll help you pick one." Vanessa smiled, getting down to look through the movies with Monique.

"Corbin? I know you know where Lucas and Ashley are. Now, tell me." Zac said tauntingly. Corbin shook his head. He didn't know how much longer he could do this. "Fine, I'll just go see for myself, in the kitchen!" Zac said, standing up and walking towards the kitchen. Corbin jumped up and got in Zac's way. "What are you blocking me from seeing?" Zac asked, knowing Corbin was about to spill. He was horrible at keeping secrets.

"I can't say..." He mumbled. Zac tried to walk into the kitchen but Corbin stopped him.

"I just wanna get something to drink..." Zac began but stopped when Corbin dropped to his knees on the floor.

"Ashley and Lucas are having an affair!" He shouted.

"What? With who?" Monique asked, walking over.

"With each other!" Corbin screamed, feeling relieved to not have to hide the secret anymore.

"You are dead..." He heard someone say from behind him.

"Time to go!" Corbin jumped up and ran upstairs, Lucas chasing after him.

Lucas chased after Corbin quickly, chasing him around upstairs.

"I better go make sure they don't kill each other." Zac says before hurrying up the stairs.

"Why did you have to blurt it out? I thought you wouldn't tell." Lucas screams at Corbin, having him pinned up against the hallway wall. Zac pulls Lucas away from Corbin, getting in the middle of them.

"Lucas, dude, chill." Zac says smiling "We all knew you two would end up together sooner or later."

"But he still didn't have to blurt it out to everyone, I bet the people in China know now." Lucas says, not being able to stop himself from laughing a little bit.

"See? And to think, you were about to kill me!" Corbin laughed. The three continued laughing. "At least I didn't tell them how I saw you two making out, right?" Corbin said, still laughing. Lucas stared at him, silent. Zac gasped and his eyes widened.

"You made out with her?" Zac asked, bursting into laughter. Lucas shook his head at Corbin.

"You realize now that I really do have to kill you, right?" he asked. 

"Um, can't we talk about it?" Corbin gulped. Lucas shook his head and Corbin ran downstairs. "Help me, Mo! He's gonna beat me and kill me and then bring me to life so he can kill me again!" Corbin screamed, hiding behind his girlfriend.

"Wow, you have been watching way too many Sci-fi movies!" Monique laughed. Lucas walked down the stairs with Zac behind him, the two were laughing.

"Um, Lucas, why aren't you gonna kill me?" Corbin asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

"Oh, because Zac told me the greatest story about you and, well, I guess we're even." Lucas said, smiling. Corbin gasped, not even wanting to know what Zac told him.

"Guys, I'm getting tired." Vanessa said suddenly.

"I'll go upstairs with you. We have to wake you up every now and then so I'll take the first shift, guys." Corbin offered, heading upstairs with Vanessa.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Vanessa walked upstairs slowly, feeling like her legs were going to give out any time.

"Hey, you okay?" Corbin asks, putting his arms underneath her legs, lifting her up so she didn't have to walk.

"Corbin, I can walk." Vanessa says, thrashing her legs out.

"No, Nessa. You can't walk. Did you see the way you were walking, it's just easier this way." Corbin says smiling down at Vanessa. She yawns slowly, trying to cover up how tired she really is. Once they get into the room, Corbin turns on the light, laying Vanessa down on the bed slowly.

"Thank you, Corbin. You don't know how much all of you mean to me." Vanessa says, a few tears escaping her eyes. Corbin kneels down next to the bed, wiping her tears away gently.

"Hey, no crying. We all care about you, so we're going to do whatever we have to do to get you better," he says softly, kissing her forehead. "Get some sleep." Corbin says quietly, covering her up and shutting the light off. He walks out of the room quietly and back downstairs to see his friends watching Final Destination 3.

Corbin went upstairs every now and then to wake Vanessa up. After an hour, Lucas took the job. Then Ashley, then Monique and finally Zac. Zac stayed upstairs, watching Vanessa sleep for a while. "Hi, Zac." She whispered as she opened her eyes.

"Hey, baby. You okay?" Zac smiled, brushing hair out of her face.

"I'm fine. Just have a headache and I'm really tired..." Vanessa yawned.

"You can go back to sleep now, I'll be back in a few minutes." Zac smiled.

"My head hurts so bad, Zac..." Vanessa moaned.

"It's okay, just go to sleep." Zac kissed her forehead as she fell back asleep.

Zac sat next to Corbin on the couch when he got back downstairs, to see them watching the beginning of Cars. "Corbin, did you pick the movie?" Zac joked.

Zac looked at his watch and headed up the stairs to check on Vanessa. "Ness, wake up." He whispered. "Wake up, babe." Zac said again, lightly shaking her. "Vanessa? Vanessa!" He shouted. "Don't do this to me, not again!" Zac cried. He raced downstairs to get Corbin.

Zac ran into the living room quickly. "Corbin, she won't wake up." Zac shouted, fear in his voice. Corbin shoots up off the couch, racing up the stairs behind Zac. They run into the bedroom with Lucas, Ashley and Monique right behind them.

"Vanessa, wake up." Corbin says, shaking her lightly. "Vanessa..." Corbin says, shaking her once again.

Ashley and Monique cry out, as Vanessa won't wake up. Lucas brings Ashley into him as Monique sits on the edge of the bed. "Vanessa, please you have to wake up." Zac says, tears streaming down his face. "Monique, call 911." Corbin says, still shaking Vanessa. "Come on Vanessa, wake up." Corbin says, hitting the side of the bed.

"Vanessa, don't leave me. Please, don't do this to me, Nessa." Zac shouts, still shaking her. Corbin grabs his arms, tearing him away from her.

"Zac, the medics are here, you have to step away from the bed." Corbin says, dragging him away from the bed.

"Why didn't I listen to her? She told me she had a bad headache, why didn't I listen." Zac shouts, hitting his fists against the wall.

"Dude, you have to calm down, please. You know Vanessa wouldn't want you acting like this." Corbin says.

Zac pulled away from Corbin and continued pounding his fists into the wall, blood starting to come out. "Zac! Stop, man!" Corbin shouted as he gabbed Zac and tackled him to the ground. The paramedics walked over to Vanessa.

Lucas was explaining what happened and Corbin still had Zac pinned to the ground. "Zac, stop, man. V wouldn't want you to be like this, seriously. Knock it off!" Corbin hissed. Zac pushed Corbin off of him and he stood. A paramedic walked over and grabbed Zac's hand.

"You're gonna need stitches." The paramedic said. "Come with me, I'll drive you to the hospital." The man said as he dragged Zac to the ambulance.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM 

Zac followed the paramedic willingly as he took him to the ambulance. Corbin decided to follow the ambulance to the hospital, so that everyone could go with them.

Once they reached the hospital, the paramedic's rushed Vanessa into the hospital showing Zac where to go to get his stitched. Corbin parked the car, all four friends getting out and walking into the hospital, waiting in the waiting room for Zac to get his stitches finished.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM 

Zac walked into the waiting room, only to be engulfed into a hug by Monique and Ashley. "Zac! Don't do that again! We need you here, don't ditch us like that!" Monique sobbed into his shoulder. Ashley pulled away and Monique did too. They looked at Zac's hand. "How bad was it?" Mo asked.

"Fifty stitches." Zac replied solemnly.

"FIFTY? For one hand?" Corbin exclaimed.

"Yeah, it went clear across my hand. I'm fine though, don't worry about it. Hey, where's Lucas?" He said, noticing his friend was gone.

"He's outside. He said he needed some fresh air." Corbin informed Zac.

"You know, I don't think he's cried or anything since any of this started. He's got to be the strongest one out of all of us." Monique said softly.

"Or he just doesn't know how to show his emotions so he keeps them all bottled up inside..." Corbin whispered. The four thought in silence for a moment before the door opened and Lucas walked in. They all looked at him.

"What?" He asked. Everyone noticed his eyes were red.

"Lucas, it's okay!" Ashley said as she rushed over and hugged him. Monique patted him on the back.

"Guys, I'm fine. Zac's the one who got stitches!" Lucas laughed.

Before anybody could say anything else, a doctor walked in.

Lucas was the first to notice the doctor standing there. Zac stood up, walking over to the doctor quickly.

"Is Vanessa okay? Is she going to be alright?" Zac asks, bombarding the doctor with questions.

"Please, Mr. Efron." the doctor says, holding his hand up quickly.

"Vanessa is going to be okay, she has just been in shock since your daughter's..." The doctor begins, stopping when he notices a few tears dripping down Zac's face.

"You need to know something." The doctor says slowly. Zac steps closer to the doctor, everyone listening closely.

"Vanessa... Vanessa's pregnant."

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM 

**KelsiLovesLucas: Okay, wow! This was a long chappie, peeps! It took us like two days to write it! But we figured that you deserved a long chapter after waiting so patiently for long updates and just for being amazing readers and reviewers! So, we leave you now with a cliffie! Is the suspense building? I bet it is… wanna know what happens next? Of course you do! So, click the little button in the corner and leave a review. It only takes like two minutes of your time so review and we'll update as soon as possible! We love you guys so much! God bless1 Peace, KelsiLovesLucas**

**MissZacEfron: Hey ya'll...OMG! That was the longest chapter we have ever written!! I forgot how many words it came out to be, but I know it was a lot!! But it was all for you guys!! Now please, please, please go and review!! We need lots of reviews, and maybe chapter five will get up quicker!! So please review!!! Much Love! Mandi!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: First and foremost, this story was COAUTHORED by me ((KelsiLovesLucas)) and MissZacEfron. This is the sequel to' Happy Ending? Not Happy Enough' and the third after 'The Perfect Life Gone Wrong' . If you haven't read the first or second one, then we suggest that you go read that first. Okay, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: Nope, we own nothing. Sad, I know…

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_RECAP_

_Zac stood up, walking over to the doctor quickly._

"Is Vanessa okay? Is she going to be alright?" Zac asks, bombarding the doctor with questions.

"Please, Mr. Efron." the doctor says, holding his hand up quickly.

"Vanessa is going to be okay, she has just been in shock since your daughter's..." The doctor begins, stopping when he notices a few tears dripping down Zac's face.

"You need to know something." The doctor says slowly. Zac steps closer to the doctor, everyone listening closely.

"Vanessa... Vanessa's pregnant."

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM 

Zac sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting room, not believing what the doctor had just told him. "Wait, now hold on just a cotton picking minute here! V is pregnant?!?" Corbin exclaimed, also sitting down. Everybody was confused, not quite sure what to think.

"How far along is she?" Monique finally asked.

"One month and three weeks." The doctor replied simply. The room was as silent as the grave for a long period of time. "You can go see Vanessa whenever you feel up to it." The doctor told them before exiting the quiet, and slightly awkward, waiting room.

After a few more long, silent moments Zac stood up. "Maybe this will be good for her, for all of us." He said softly.

"Zac, it's okay. This is a good thing! You're gonna have a new baby!" Ashley said, trying to cheer him up but tears were forming in his eyes.

"I know, it's great. It's just... what if he tries to get the new baby too? Or what if he tries to get Asari? Or even Vanessa in her weak state? I wouldn't be able to handle that! I can't handle it now, just the fear of any of that happening! I already lost one person that I love, I can't afford to lose everybody else!" Zac said, breaking down again.

Corbin shot up out of his seat, going over to his best friend, putting his hand on his back, patting it slowly. "Man, it's going to be okay. Vanessa's dad isn't going to do anything else. If I have to sleep at your house with you, I will." he says, smiling lightly.

"Yeah, we're all here for you guys, whatever you need, snap your fingers and it will be done." Ashley says, also walking over to Zac. "We're here for you." She says, hugging him lightly, a few tears running down her face, onto his sweater.

"We love both of you, and a Asari, and we're going to love the new baby, too. We're all one family, in this together, no matter what." Monique says as she and Lucas join the huddle.

The doctor walks back, clearing his throat, making his presence known as he stands there, watching the young people share a hug.

"Mr. Efron?" The doctor says loudly. Zac's head shoots up, looking at the doctor.

"Yes?" Zac asks, worried something is wrong.

"Your wife is asking for you." He says, smiling at Zac.

"Thank you." Zac says, quickly standing up. He looks back at all his friends as Ashley gives him a reassuring nod. He turns around, walking to the door, putting his hand on the handle. He opens the door, seeing Vanessa lying on the bed, a few IV's hooked up to her arm.

"Hey babe." He whispers quietly, shutting the door behind him quietly. "How are you?" He asks, standing next to the bed.

"Okay, I guess." Vanessa said, so quiet that Zac could barely hear her.

"The doctor said you can go home in a little bit." Zac smiled at her. She only nodded and closed her eyes.

"Zac?" Ness said softly.

"Yeah, I'm here. What is it?"

"I'm so sorry…" Vanessa said painfully. Zac was about to speak but Vanessa continued. "I am so sorry about everything, none of this would have happened, would be happening, if it weren't for me. It's my father who is doing all of this, it's me who can't take it, I'm the one who keeps ending up in the hospital. It's my fault entirely that everything is so hard and I'm making everything harder for you and for everybody else. Someday when you come to the hospital it's gonna be to identify my body and that'll probably be better for all of you, just to get rid of me and not have to worry anymore…" Vanessa whispered. Tears slowly dripped down Zac's face.

"No, baby, no. Don't think like that. Nobody blames you. You're not the reason that your dad is crazy, that's all him. It's not your fault, it's gonna be okay." Zac said, trying not to let her know he was crying.

"Zac, I hate myself. I hate this and I just wish it never happened!" Vanessa said, opening her eyes and looking up at Zac.

"I hate it too. Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and think it has all just been a bad dream. Then I realize it's real. And sometimes that realization is so hard to take I don't think I can handle it." Zac told her. "V, you're so much stronger that I am. I need you here to help me, okay? Don't give up, don't leave me. I need you too much…" Zac whispered.

"Okay, Zac, I'll stay." She decided. Zac sighed and kissed Vanessa's forehead. "I love you, Zac."

"I love you too, Vanessa. I love you so much." Zac said softly.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM 

"Nice and easy. Take it slow." Zac whispers to Vanessa as he was helping her out of her hospital bed, into the wheelchair. He looped his arms around her waist, helping her sit down easily.

"Zac, I'm fine." Vanessa says, smiling up at Zac. "I can do this. It's not like I had knee surgery yesterday." She says as she starts to laugh lightly, seeing the serious look on her face, her smile drops immediately. Vanessa quickly looks over at the door, seeing it opening slowly. She sees her best friends blonde hair appear as she smiles widely.

"Hey! You're already up!" Ashley squeals as she walks in the door, Lucas and Corbin following her. Vanessa looks at the door, as Monique doesn't walk through.

As if on cue, Corbin speaks up. "Monique is at your house getting Asari into bed." Corbin says smiling at Vanessa as Lucas kisses her forehead gently, walking back over to Ashley's side. Vanessa breathes a sigh of relief as she closes her eyes, leaning her head back.

"Ness? You okay?" Lucas asks, stepping next to her wheelchair. He puts his hand to her forehead, feeling a little hot.

"Yeah, I just want to get out of here." Vanessa says quietly, barely audible.

"We know, and your going home right now." Ashley says, stepping behind her wheelchair, pushing her out of the room slowly.

They all get outside, getting to Zac's truck as they stop, giving Vanessa a few minutes to breathe deeply before getting into the truck.

"Take your time baby. We're just going to help you." Zac says, standing opposite of Corbin and Lucas, who are on her Vanessa's other side.

"I am." She says slowly, taking a few deep breathes. Zac locks the wheelchair, moving his hands onto her shoulders, rubbing them softly. She hears a car door slam loudly as her eyes shoot open, looking around in fear, the noises sending images of what her dad did to her, sending them flashing through her head.

Corbin notices first as he kneels down on the pavement next to her, putting a hand behind her head. "Ness... stay calm. You're fine." He says, his voice calm and relaxed. He continues to look at her as Zac and Lucas also kneel down next to her.

"Baby, Ness...you're fine. Nothings happening." Zac says quietly, rubbing circles on her shoulders, kissing her forehead lightly. As she takes a few deep breathes, the guys lift her up into the truck, shutting the door behind them.

"We'll meet you at your house." Corbin says, giving Zac a hug, as Ashley and Lucas follow.

"Yeah. Thanks you guys. For all you have been doing for Ness and I, we really appreciate it." Zac says smiling kindly as his friends nod, walking to their cars.

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KelsiLovesLucas: Hey peeps! OMG, how long has it been since our last update? Too long, I know! So sorry, all. I know we promised we would update more often and then we go and leave you hanging. Bad writers! Grr… okay, we are definitely going to start updating more it's just there's been some stuff going on so, once again, sorry. Okay, I hope you guys liked this chapter. It's going to keep getting more interesting and better as it continues so stay tuned and thanks for waiting so patiently for our updates! Okay, now, review time! Let us know how much you loved it! We have already started chapter 6 so yay! Talk to you guys later, see ya next chappie. I love you all. Peace, Kelsi

MissZacEfron- Hey everyone! Wow... long time no chapters... well I know we haven't updated, but we have now! Have no fear, Kelsi and Mandi are back! Well... as always, please R and R. Love all of you! Much Love! Mandi!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This story was COAUTHORED by MissZacEfron and myself ((KelsiLovesLucas)). This is the sequel to' Happy Ending? Not Happy Enough' and the third after 'The Perfect Life Gone Wrong' . If you haven't read the first or second one, then we suggest that you go read that first. Okay, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: Nope, nothing. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Or, I could use the word that MissZacEfron made up, nadadadadingdong. LOL. Enjoy the story, lovelies!

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As everyone got to Vanessa and Zac's house, they all climbed out of the cars, helping Vanessa get situated inside. Zac walks into the kitchen, hearing small footsteps behind him. He turns around, smiling down at who is behind him.

"Look who it is." Zac says smiling at his youngest daughter, his only daughter.

"Hi Daddy!" Asari says happily as she jumps up and down, holding her arms up motioning him to pick her up.

Zac leans down, picking his daughter up quickly, spinning her around in the air, sending her cheers of happiness out.

"Airplane! Airplane!" she starts to cheer, making Zac move his arms faster, up and down, sending his daughter into a fit of laughter.

He smiles as he laughs with his daughter, seeing Ashley walk into the kitchen. He lowers Asari to the ground, putting her down gently.

"Hey Ash." Zac says quietly, smiling over in her direction. He looks down at the ground, trying to cover up how he is feeling. 

"Zac. Don't do this to yourself. It's not your fault."

"Ash, I know. I know it's not my fault, not V's, not yours or anyone's. It's just really hard, ya know?" Zac said softly.

"I know, Zac. Just remember, we're all here. You aren't in this alone."

Before Zac could respond, Corbin walked in smiling. "Yeah, we're all in this together, remember?" He joked. Ashley and Zac both chuckled slightly. "C'mon, Asari, let's go play some video games." Corbin said to the little girl.

"Okay! I'll whip your butt, Corbin!" She giggled. Corbin chased her out of the kitchen.

"Zac, don't blame yourself. You've got Asari and Vanessa. They need you, we all do. It's gonna be okay." Ashley said as she hugged her friend.

"Z?" Lucas said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Huh?" Zac said, pulling away from Ashley.

"We're all staying here tonight. Just wanted to let you know." Lucas told him. He then turned to walk back into the living room, smiling and winking at Ashley as he did so.

Zac noticed this and looked at Ashley quizzically. "What? Why does everyone keep looking at me weird?" She asked. Zac only shrugged and walked into the living room with Ashley right behind him.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM 

They walked into the living room as Zac saw Lucas setting a few sleeping bags across the floor. He smiled as he chuckled lightly.

"What?" Lucas asks, looking up at Zac.

"Oh nothing. But you did know we have other rooms in the house. They are called guest bedrooms." Zac says laughing at the blonde headed boy.

"Shut up." Lucas exclaims, throwing a pillow in Zac's direction, hitting him square in the face.

"Not cool." Zac says, throwing the pillow back at Lucas, starting a pillow fight. Asari runs down the steps, running into the living room as she starts laughing, Corbin chasing her.

Corbin catches her, throwing her onto the couch as she jumps up and down, laughing hysterically. Zac smiles as he hears a faint sound coming from the stairs. He looks over, seeing Vanessa standing there on the last step.

"Good morning sleepy head." Corbin says, walking over to her as he helps her down.

He wraps his arm around her waist, helping her walks slowly over to the couch. He lets her lay down on the couch. "You need anything?" Ashley asks, putting her hand against her head, feeling the warmth coming off of it.

"Can you get me some water?" Vanessa asks, her voice low and not full of much energy.

"Yeah, I'll get you some." Zac says, walking away quickly and into the kitchen. He returns a few minutes later, with a tall glass of water.

Vanessa took a few sips from the glass before lying down on the couch. "You okay, baby?" Zac asked her, sounding worried.

"I'm just tired, that's all." She said. Moments later, she was asleep.

"I'll take her up to bed. It's getting kind of late, why don't you guys go to bed. I'm gonna sleep with V tonight." Zac said, picking Vanessa up and heading towards the stairs. His friends only nodded.

"Do you think she's gonna be okay?" Monique asked.

Ashley looked at Monique for a moment. "Honestly, I don't know. Every time I think that she'll be okay, something happens. I just don't know what to say anymore. I mean, she had a really bad fever. She doesn't look so good." Ashley said, tears forming in her eyes and her voice cracking slightly. Lucas walked over and enveloped her in a hug.

"What do you think, Corbs?" Monique asked the other boy in the room. Corbin didn't reply so Monique asked him again, just needing someone to talk. "Corbin, what do you think?" He only shrugged and looked down.

"She's giving up." Lucas whispered, pulling away from Ashley. Everyone looked at him, wondering what he meant. "She's been hurt, she lost her mom and her sister and she lost one of her daughters. Mo, her dad hurt you! She keeps getting hurt and now she's got another baby on the way to worry about and all of us, you know she worries about us. She is giving up and that's why she's getting worse." Lucas said, his voice sounding weak.

"Why would you think that, Lucas?" Corbin asked, standing up to look at him.

"Cause I just know!"

"How?" 

"Cause it's what I would do!" Lucas shouted before storming away to the kitchen. Everyone just stood in silence.

"I'm going out for some air." Corbin said as he stormed outside.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM 

Corbin slammed the door behind him as he stormed outside, walking slowly around on the wooden patio. He looked at the road, a lot of cars driving by. He turns around, looking at the house, being able to hear Ashley yelling at Lucas, yelling that he shouldn't say those things.

"She needs help. She needs help to get through this. You have to help her." Corbin shouts, looking up toward the sky, looking for an answer.

He looks toward the bushes, hearing a rustling sound coming from them.

"Hello?" He asks, walking over toward the bushes. "Who's there?" He asks again, trying to see in the bushes. He sees a flash moving, then someone moved behind him. He turns around, seeing the last person he ever thought would show up. He feels the cold barrel of the gun, stuck up against his shoulder blade as he tries to remain calm.

"What do you want?" Corbin asks, his voice revealing how scared he is.

"I wanted to kill her. But I guess you'll have to be my first victim." Greg says, chuckling.

"Please. Don't hurt Vanessa. Just hurt me." Corbin says, starting to get worried.

Corbin gulped and took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "What is your problem?" Corbin hissed. "Why are you doing this? I mean, what did any of us, especially Vanessa, do to you?"

"You better shut up, kid." Greg growled.

"You won't kill me." Corbin said, taunting him.

"You better watch it, boy." Greg warned Corbin.

"Why? You know you won't do it." Corbin said. _C'mon_, he thought, _shoot me. The shot will make a nice loud noise. Try and sneak around at night with everyone coming outside to see what the sound was._

"Don't push your luck! I mean it!" Vanessa's father said as he pushed the gun into Corbin's back.

"You killed your wife, your youngest daughter, you killed Vanessa's daughter! How could you do that?" Corbin said, getting angry with the man behind him.

"One more word and I swear, I'll kill you." Corbin took a deep breath when Greg said this. He knew it was the only way to save the others.

"I hope you meet a nice man in prison."

Suddenly, a loud bang rang out through the still night air. Greg ran off the porch and down the street as lights slowly turned on all along the block. Ashley ran out with Monique behind her as they saw their friend lying on the porch bleeding.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM 

Ashley ran over to Corbin, dropping onto her knees beside him. "Corbin, don't do this!" Ashley shouts, pressing her fingers to his neck, making sure there is a pulse. "Lucas! Zac!" she screams, hearing the sounds from inside the house, getting closer to the outside of the house. As Lucas and Zac get outside, Lucas grabs Monique as her legs start to wave, getting shaky.

"What the hell happened?" Zac shouts as he reaches Corbin, kneeling down next to him. Zac puts his fingers against the bullet wound, putting pressure on it to stop the bleeding. Monique lets out sobs as she turns, looking at Corbin.

"C-Corbin." Monique says quietly, wiggling out of Lucas's warm hug. She walks slowly to Corbin, dropping onto her knees, crying over his chest. Ashley slowly rubs her back, wrapping her arms around her friend as they both silently cry.

"Luc, go call an ambulance." Zac bellows as he continues putting steady pressure on the hole that is in Corbin's back.

A few minutes after, Lucas comes back outside, the ambulance pulling up. Three paramedics jumped out of the automobile, running up to the porch.

"Hi, I'm David. What do we have here?" He asks, stepping up onto the porch, two young women, around Ashley's age, following him.

"My friend, he got shot." Zac says, knowing that even if Ashley wanted to talk, she would open her mouth and nothing would come out.

"If you four could step back so that we can get him." One of the young women says, moving in on Corbin. She sets the stretcher next to him, the other two paramedics stepping in, counting to three and lifting Corbin onto the stretcher. He opens his eyes, licking his lips slowly.

"Wh-what happened?" He whispers, blinking rapidly.

"My names Alex. You were shot, in the shoulder. Do you remember anything?" He asks, putting his fingers to Corbin's neck as he takes his pulse, writing it down on a clipboard. Corbin blinks a few more times, pain running through out his body, as he tries to curl in on the pain. Alex puts his hands on Corbin's chest, trying to get him to stop. "Corbin, you're going to have to lay still. I don't want you losing any more blood."

"Corbin, my name's Alexandria. I need you to open your eyes for me." She says, getting her flashlight ready. "I need you to blink a few times after you open your eyes." She says, watching Corbin blink as she holds the light up, shining it into each of his eyes.

Alex turns to Zac and Ashley, giving them a solemn look. "He'll be okay, but I'm afraid that he might not have any movement in his right arm." he says quietly, looking up at the two friends.

"What? This isn't fair. He didn't deserve any of this." Zac shouts, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I didn't say he would be, but there might be a chance of immobility in his right arm. But we must get going, you can follow us to the hospital." Alex says before running off to the ambulance.

Zac turns to Ashley, looking at her before she breaks down. "Hey, no. Ash, he's going to be fine." Zac whispers quietly, rubbing Ashley's back comfortingly. "Come on, let's go into the house." Zac says, releasing Ashley out of his arms as she walks into the house slowly, Zac right behind her.

They walk into the house, seeing Monique and Lucas sitting on the couch, Monique leaning against Lucas, crying heavily into his chest. Ashley runs over to the couch, rubbing her back softly.

"Mo, it's going to be okay. I promise. Corbin's a fighter, he'll be fine."

"I can't lose him, Ash. I love Corbin. I want to spend the rest of my years with him. He can't leave me." Monique cries out, wiping her eyes on her shirt sleeve.

"You're not going to lose him. He knows that you love him. You're not going to lose him." Ashley whispers quietly as Monique turns to her, hugging her lightly as she cries on Ashley's shoulder. "We're going to the hospital, are you coming with us?"

"Yes, I'm coming," she says, jumping up and off of the couch.

"I'll stay here and watch over Asari and Vanessa." Lucas offers, looking up at Zac. "I won't let anything happen to them. I promise."

"We'll keep you updated." Zac says, walking into the foyer to get his shoes, as Ashley and Monique run upstairs to get dressed into something else. Once they come down, the three head off to the hospital, unprepared for what the night is going to bring upon the six friends.

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM 

**KelsiLovesLucas: Sniffle, sniffle. So sad. Poor Corbin! Don't worry, guys, he'll be okay… eventually. Muahahaha. Okay, enough of that. Please review and let us know what you thought of this chapter and we'll update as soon as we can. So now hit that little purple button in the corner and send in a review. It doesn't take much time to do so please, show some love. Oh, by the way, this story is gonna have some big things happen in the next couple of chapters. Greg is really getting back into the story now so be ready for that. Okay, hasta la pasta, my sweets. Peace. God bless all of you. Love, Kelsi**

**MissZacEfron-****Wow! I can't wait to get started on the next chapter! This chapter was tricky for us to write... but it was fun too! I hope you all enjoy it. I hope to get lots of reviews for this chapter! Thank you for R&Ring... much Love To All! Mandi Sue!**

**P.S. From KelsiLovesLucas: I am going to be updating ALL of my stories soon, I promise! I have not deserted you guys, I just have had a lot going on but I promise to update stories soon. Not all at once but they will all get updated, I promise. Okay, hasta. Peace. Love, Kelsi**

SONG OF THE CHAPTER ((this is a new thing I'm gonna be doing for all of my stories. I'll just put some lyrics from a song I've been listening to a lot lately at the end of each chapter. This mainly is because I am so bored and I have no life. LOL)):

SONG TITLE: Chasing Cars

BY: Snow Patrol

If I lay here,

**If I just lay here,**

**Would you lie with me**

**And just forget the world?**

**Forget what we're told,**

**Before we get too old.**

**We'll find a garden just bursting into life.**


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This story was COAUTHORED by ilovehimxo ((formerly MissZacEfron)) and myself ((KelsiLovesLucas)). This is the sequel to' Happy Ending? Not Happy Enough' and the third after 'The Perfect Life Gone Wrong' . If you haven't read the first or second one, then we suggest that you go read that first. Okay, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: Omg, guys! Okay, so the other night, Mandi and I, with our mighty ninja powers, snuck into Disney and stole the rights to HSM so we now own High School Musical! Whoo! Yay us! SMACK wait, what happened? Dangit! It was just a dream… all right, scratch that. We still own nothing. Enjoy the story, lovelies!

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

Zac rushed into the hospital, his friends right behind him. "Where's Corbin Bleu's room?" He asked the nurse at the desk frantically.

"Room 134, down the hall and to the right." She said, after checking the computer. Zac thanked her and then continued down the hall with the others.

Once they reached Corbin's room, they found the door to be shut so they waited in the hall for a few minutes. A doctor finally walked out and looked at them. "Is he okay?" Monique asked suddenly. Then she stopped. "Well, I guess not. I mean, he's in the hospital. What I mean is will he be okay? I mean, how bad is it?" Monique rambled. Ashley grabbed her hand to shush her.

"How is he?" She asked, clarifying what Monique was meaning.

"Well, we did some x-rays and saw that his shoulder is pretty damaged and the bullet is lodged into the bone. We're gonna perform surgery tomorrow morning to remove the bullet and correct his shoulder as much as we can." The doctor explained to the three friends, Monique gasping and covering her mouth at certain times.

"The medics who brought him said that his arm might be immobile..." Zac began.

"We don't know that yet. For now, we gave him sedatives and he couldn't move it anyway cause it would probably be too painful. But we won't know about his arm until after the surgery and probably a few days after that. It depends on the person actually, how strong they are." The doctor told him. Zac nodded, not fully understanding why they couldn't do anymore to help his friend but not asking any more questions.

"Is he in pain now?" Ashley asked, worried.

"Not much. We gave him sedatives, like I said, as well as some pain medicine. You can go in and see him, if you like." The doctor said. As he left, the three friends rushed into the room.

Corbin was lying in his bed, watching Southpark on TV. Classic Corbin. "Hey, guys!" He smiled and turned the TV off, noticing them walk in. They all smiled back and went over to him. "Where's Ness?" He asked.

"She's home with Asari and Lucas." Monique said softly, holding back tears.

"Don't cry, Mo. I'm okay! Well, I will be. Really, I promise. My shoulder doesn't even hurt! I really need to find out what pain meds they gave me, they're the miracle drug!" Corbin laughed. His friends smiled, seeing he still had his sense of humor.

Zac decided to ask Corbin about the surgery. "Did they tell you what they have to do?" He asked.

"You mean surgery? Yeah, they told me. Can you believe it, I've got a bullet in my shoulder! How many people get to say that? It's kind of cool, actually!" Corbin said excitedly. Monique laughed and grabbed his hand.

"Wow, that would be really weird to see. Can you imagine?" Ashley said, looking at Corbin's shoulder trying to imagine a bullet sitting there.

"Actually, I did see it." Corbin said. All his friends looked at him. "Yeah, they showed me the x-rays and I saw the bullet. It's awesome!" He exclaimed.

The four all stayed up and talked for a while. After a few hours, instead of going home, the three visitors just found spots in the room to sleep.

"I'm just gonna call home so they don't worry." Zac said as he dialed the phone.

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Lucas picked up the phone at around 11:30. "Hello?" He said into the receiver.

"Luc, it's Z. We're still at the hospital and we're gonna stay here tonight. Will you guys be okay?"

"Yeah, no problem." Lucas yawned. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Later, man."

"See ya, dude." Lucas put the phone back on the hook and lay back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Every now and then he'd gone up to check on Asari and Vanessa. Every time, they were both asleep and just fine.

Lucas had started to drift off to sleep when suddenly he heard a loud noise. He bolted up off the couch and looked around, about to go upstairs to check the girls. Then, he heard it again. It was coming from outside.

Lucas raced upstairs and ran to Asari's room. "Wake up, Asari!" He said, turning the light on. The little girl slowly opened her eyes and suddenly was scooped into Lucas' arms.

"What's going on?" She shouted. Lucas just ran to Vanessa's room.

"Ness, get up!" Lucas slammed the door to Vanessa's room and turned her light on. The actress slowly began to wake up and Lucas shouted at her again.

"Why, what's going on?" She mumbled, still half asleep and lying on her side.

"He's here!" Lucas exclaimed. Vanessa bolted up, fully awake now.

"Where is everybody?" She cried, getting up.

"They're at the hospital and Asari's in here." Lucas said.

Vanessa got up and ran to the bathroom and got dressed. She came back out, fully dressed and sat on the edge of her bed with Asari. "Do you hear anything?" She questioned, her voice shaky.

Suddenly, a loud thump came from downstairs. Lucas flicked the light off.

"Wait, why is everybody at the hospital?" Vanessa suddenly asked. Lucas only shushed her in response. "What happened?" Lucas shushed her again. "Did somebody get hurt?"

"SHH!" Lucas hissed.

"What happened?!" Vanessa persisted.

"Be quiet, I'll tell you later!" Lucas whispered, shushing her one last time. Asari was huddling against Vanessa, sobbing silently into her mother's shoulder.

After an agonizing ten minutes, which felt like an eternity, nobody had heard anything. "I'm gonna go out and check, stay here."

"No!" Vanessa whispered to Lucas, about to stand up.

"Stay here! I'll be back. Don't come out, don't move. Just stay here and be quiet." Lucas hissed to her.

"Don't leave, Lucas!" Asari said softly, crying.

Lucas walked over to her and hugged her. "It's okay, sweetie. I'll be back. Just stay here and protect your mommy, okay? And whatever happens, promise me you'll stay here and you won't make any noise. No matter what, okay?" Lucas said to the little girl. She only nodded and kissed his cheek.

"Be careful, Luc." Vanessa whispered as the blond stood up.

"Stay here, I'll be okay." He promised before walking out of the room and down the dark stairs, not knowing what he would find.

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Lucas tiptoed down the steps quietly as he go to the landing, standing against the wall, trying not to breathe too loudly. He heard the noise again, peeking around the corner. He was going at everything, knocking everything over. Lucas continued to the tile floor where the kitchen started, walking a few feet away from Greg.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked, looking at Greg, a stricken look on his face. Greg turned around quickly, glaring at Lucas.

"Oh. Nice to see you again pretty boy actor. How are you? Is your friend dead yet?" Greg said, giving a quiet, but evil laugh.

"No. He isn't. He's doing fine. Why would you care? It's not like you care about anyone anyway." Lucas hissed, glaring at Greg. "I can't believe you would go this far to ruin Vanessa's life. I think you need to leave."

"I'm not leaving until I get what I want. And I want those two bitches." Greg hissed back at Lucas, stepping towards him. "And you're not going to ruin my plan." He said, poking Lucas in the chest while Lucas didn't move an inch.

"I will if I want to." Lucas said taking a step back, the long silver object now in the grasp of his hands. He kept his hands behind his back, slouching a little bit.

"Fine, Greg. Take them. Just take them. It's not like I care." Lucas said, no expressions coming through on his face.

"You're playing something with me. Aren't you?" Greg asked, stepping toward Lucas, the two guys chest to chest. "I'll get them sooner or later. And I know what tricks you have up your sleeve." Greg said stepping away from Lucas, walking away a little bit.

"You better watch your back, Grabeel." Greg said before walking out of the Efron's house.

Lucas smiled as he dropped the silver blade onto the counter, walking over to the door and locking it. He walked around the house, making sure all of the doors and windows were locked.

He walked back upstairs and into Vanessa's bedroom. He saw the two girls lying on the bed, fallen asleep. Asari was lying next to Vanessa, wrapped up in her mother's arms. Lucas smiled to himself as he walked back downstairs, starting to pick things up around the house.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

"Monique? Monique?" Corbin whispered, trying to get someone's attention. He looked around the room; Zac was curled up in the chair, Ashley was lying on the floor, leaning against the leg of the chair. He felt around the bed, feeling someone move next to him. "Mo?" He asked again quietly.

"Babe? You ok?" Monique asked, turning the dim light on about Corbin's bed. She looked at him, seeing tears on his face. "Baby, what's wrong?" She asked, getting up. "Did I hurt you?"

"No. I just need more pain medicine." He choked out, wiping his eyes with the sheets. He looked over at the door, the nurse already entering the room.

"Hey Corbin." Kristy, the petite brunette said as she got to Corbin's bedside. "How's my favorite boy toy?" She asked, sending glares to him from Monique. 'Boy Toy? ' she mouthed at Corbin, trying to hold her laughs in.

"You're all set. Call me if you need anything else." She said, walking to the door, blowing a kiss back at Corbin as she reached the door.

Monique just stared at Corbin. "Boy toy? You have to be kidding me, right?" She asked, no expression on her face.

"Baby. She's a nurse. That's all. Nothing else. You know I love you." Corbin said quietly, pulling Monique to lie back down next to him. "I'm not going to leave you for a nurse. You know that. I love you. Only you."

He heard Monique sob quietly as he moved onto his side, no matter how bad the pain was, he laid on his side. "I didn't want to lose you. I thought you were going to leave me. You can't leave me. I love you. " She choked out, sobbing into Corbin's chest. Corbin rubbed her back softly, not wanting Zac and Ashley waking up.

"You're not going to lose me. Not now. Not ever" He whispered into her ear quietly. "I promise."

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

"Ness, Ness wake up." Lucas whispered quietly, Zac had just called him. "Ness!" Lucas said, shaking Vanessa lightly.

Vanessa jumped a little bit, struggling to get air. She looked around the room, almost as if she was expecting to see him standing there. "Lucas." She whispered as she struggled to breathe.

"Hey, Ness, calm down. It's only me." He said, sitting on the edge of the bed, bringing Vanessa into him. "It's only me. I didn't mean to scare you." He whispered as he rubbed her back slowly.

"I thought you were him. And I thought he was going to take Asari." Vanessa said as she sat up quickly, looking around the room for Asari. "Where is..." She started as Lucas cut her off.

"She's sleeping in her room." He said smiling lightly. "He isn't here. Come downstairs with me." He said quietly, helping Vanessa up. They walked downstairs as Lucas helped Vanessa into the living room and as she sat down.

"Do you want some coffee?" He asked.

"Please." Vanessa said smiling at Lucas. "Thanks for everything, Luc." Lucas smiled at her, not wanting to be doing anything else.

"It's nothing. Your my little sister so it's my job to watch out for you." He said, kissing her forehead gently. "I'll be right back." He whispered before walking out of the room.

He returned a few minutes later, holding two steaming mugs. "Here Ness." He said handing her the cup.

"Thanks, Luc." She said smiling as she sipped her coffee slowly.

"Vanessa..." Lucas started, the tone in his voice serious.

Vanessa looked over at Lucas, a scared look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Corbin got shot yesterday. He got shot in the shoulder. He's going to be okay, but they don't know if he will regain mobility of his arm." Lucas told her, looking at Vanessa the whole time. She gasped, putting her hand over her mouth.

"Who shot him? " Vanessa asked, thinking she already knew. Lucas got quiet, staring at his mug, running his finger over the ring on it. "Lucas. Who shot him?" Vanessa said louder, growing irritable.

"Your dad." Lucas said quietly, loud enough for Vanessa to hear. She gasped, tears running down her face. She started to shake as Lucas shot up, grabbing the hot cup of coffee and placing both of the mugs on the table.

"Ness. Hey, it's okay." He said, gathering her in his arms, lying on the couch with her. "Hey, It's going to be ok. He's a fighter. He's going to be ok. They were doing surgery to remove the bullet, but he's going to be fine. I promise."

"Lucas. I can't lose one of my brothers. You guys are the only thing I have left. You, Ashley, Monique, and Corbin. I have Zac. But we are all family. I can't lose him."

"You're not going to lose him. I promise." Lucas said quietly as he rubbed her back again, whispering soothing words into her ear. "I promise."

"Can I go see him? Will you take me and Asari to go see him?"

Lucas sat there and thought about it for a moment, not sure if Vanessa should see Corbin.

"Yeah. Lets get you and Asari ready and we'll go." Lucas said before helping Vanessa off the couch and up the stairs.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Vanessa followed Lucas into the hospital, holding Asari's hand. She shuddered as she looked around at the white walls; this was probably her least favorite place in the whole world, above all else. By now, they were almost to Corbin's room. Just as they were about to go in, Zac walked out. "Oh, hey guys! I didn't know you were coming up." Zac smiled, happy to see some familiar faces.

"Zac, I was so worried! How's Corbin?" Vanessa said, hugging Zac.

"He's all right, for now. They're gonna take him to the O.R. in half an hour, you all got here just in time."

"Can we see him?" Vanessa asked her husband. Zac only took her hand and Asari's and led them into the room. Lucas followed the three.

Vanessa rushed over to Corbin and kissed his forehead. "Wow, that's a nice way to wake up." Corbin smiled as he opened his eyes. Vanessa laughed. Asari walked over and sat on Corbin's stomach, smiling at him.

Lucas simply stood in the corner of the room until Ashley noticed him. She walked over to him and took his hand. "C'mon, Luc." She said, starting to pull him over. Lucas wouldn't budge.

"I can't, Ashley..." Lucas began.

"What? Why not? C'mon!" She pulled him again and once more, Lucas held himself where he was.

"What do I say to him, Ash? I'm sorry for being the reason you got shot? Seriously." Lucas said softly.

"He's your friend, Lucas, one of your best friends. It's okay, you can talk to him." This time, Lucas followed her over to the bed.

"Luc! Hey, man, what's up?" Corbin smiled. Lucas smiled back, just looking at Corbin, then his shoulder, then Corbin again. "It's okay, I don't blame you." Corbin said, seeing the apologetic look in Lucas' eyes.

Suddenly, a nurse walked in with two male nurses and a stretcher behind her. "All right, time to go. You ready?" She said to Corbin.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess." He nodded with a sigh. The three hospital workers helped him onto the stretcher and began pushing him out. Monique quickly ran forward and kissed his cheek.

"I'll be right here when you come back." She whispered.

The group watched as Corbin was wheeled away into a pair of double doors. When he disappeared through the doors, they all sat down and waited, for that was all that they could do now.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

**KelsiLovesLucas: Dun, dun, dun! Whatever could happen next?! Only we know. And the only way you'll ever find out is to… review! The fate of this story lies in your hands, faithful readers. So if you wanna know what happens next, click the little purple button in the corner and send a review telling us how much you loved it and how you simply have to have us update! lol, we'll update as soon as we can. I'm beginning to get to work on chapter 8 already! We're writing much faster for you guys, cause we love you. And you love us! So… review! We'll update soon! Love ya! Peace. Love, Kelsi**

**P.S. be sure to wish Mandi a happy birthday in your reviews! Her birthday is Friday so make sure you show some love to my friend and co-writer, a'ight? Coolio, peeps. Hasta la pasta! **

**ilovehimxo- Hey everyone! Yes. It's still Mandi. lol... ok. But...What's gonna happen to Corbin? Oh no!! I think he'll be ok... but I don't know. You hold the key to Corbin's future! Come on! Yes! Review! Oh. By the way! Guess what... my birthday is on Friday, so maybe we could get some reviews and I could get some birthday wishes!!! Lol... all right! Thanks all for R&Ring. We love you! Mwah! Mandi**


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